Bike shops often recommend that riders check their bikes in for a regular service, around once a year. Now, if you do all of your maintenance yourself and stay on top of component wear, this may not be necessary. But reader, I do not. However, somehow I covered 12,000 miles over a four year period and did little more than replace the tyres and brake pads.
The bike in question is ‘Blanche’, a 2007 Specialized Tarmac Expert which became subject to a custom build after I rescued the frame from a skip in 2021. Alongside being both my general purpose and commuter bike, Blanche has served as my steed on numerous fully laden cycle tours, including John O’Groats to Lands End, Calais to Nice, Montpellier to Bilbao, and most recently a tour around Germany, Austria and Switzerland. My rides have often been laden with 20kg of baggage, with some accidental gravel thrown in for good measure.
